Machine for sharpening razor blades



July 11, 1933.

A. KOHLMILLR MACHINE` FOR SHARPENING RAZOR BLADES Filed lay 20, 1930 4 sheets-sheet 1 July 11, 31933- A. A. Kos-{LMILLER 1,918,111

MACHINE FOR SHARPENING RAZOR BLADES Filed May 20, 1930 4 Sheeis-Sheet 2 In ven az".

July 11, 1933. A, A KOHLMlLLER 1,918,111

MACHINE FOR SHARPENING RAZOR BLADES Filed May 2o, 1930 4 sheets-sheet 3 /l 3/ y Hz filet-nays.

July 11, 1933- A. A. KoHLMlLLER MACHINE FOR SHARPENING RAZOR BLADES Filed llay 20, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 III. Y [1, A'

,Joa oo Patented July 11, 1933 lunire-n stares ALFRED A.Y KOHLMILLER, F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA MACEINE. FOR SHABPENING RAZOR' lBILADCES Application filed May 20,

This invention relates t-o a machine for sharpening blades, particularly safety razor blades, and the principal object thereof is to provide a machine adapted to grind, hone and strop razor blades to a uniform sharpness in a minimized amount of time without unnecessary grinding or labor. To that end I provide a machine with sharpening rolls above which a support is mounted that is adapted to loosely support individual blade holders that hold their respective blades in contact with the rolls ,until they are ground, honed or stropped to a predetermined sharpness, after which the blade holders are manuall]v removed from the machine. In other words, the support and blade holders are arranged to permit the razor blades toy move downward a predetermined ldistance into grinding, honing or stropping contact with the rolls, and they are suspended in a relatively loose position while being sharpened.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine with sharpening rolls havingvbearing blocks in pairs that can be easily and simultaneously adjusted toward or from one another while the machine is in operation to move the rolls so their peripheral surfaces will contact properly with the edges of the razor blades to sharpen them to a pre-- determined sharpness. To that end I provide means for mount-ing the bearing blocks in pairs so they can lirst be adjusted separately to move their respective rolls into parallel alignment, after which all the bearings of apair of rolls are adjusted simultaneously b y a worm shaft to move the rolls toward or from one another to properly contact with the edges of the razor blades;

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine for sharpening razorV blades having a support .so constructed and arranged that the individual blade holders mounted thereon can roel; or move sidewise to properly and automatically adjust their respective blades'to the sharpening rolls, and also so the blade holders can'be manually moved on the supports with the edges of the blades engaging the rolls.

Anotherv object of the invention is to proide a machine adapted to operate with in- 193Q. Serial No. 453,959.

dividual blade holders so that eachblade can be sharpened independently ofv the other blades, it being understood that a large number of blades can be operated on at the same A time bythe machine. 555

Another object Vof the invention is to provide the p bladeV lsharpening machine withV a pair of buffer rolls for wiping and polishing the individual blades and removing their raveled or uneven edges before they are in-Y dividually placed on the stropping rolls for a sharpeninfr. Y VlA feature of the invention is shown in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of the parts of the gauge, blade holder f5 v and support, whereby they coact to arrange each lblade 'in proper lposition to engage the sliarp'eningfrolls ofthe 'machine to be properly sharpened. A Y

Another feature of invention is shown in ,fj the novel construction and arrangement of parts for supporting andadjusting the bearing blocks, whereby the rolls are easily adjusted toward or from one another while the machine is in operation; and also` whereby '-1- the pairs of rolls are held stable from sidewise movement or excessive vibration while inloperation. i j

Another feature of invention is shown in Y' the construction of the blade holder supports 3 and the means for centralizing them above their respective pairs of rolls. Features of invention are shown in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts in the individual blade holders.

Another feature of invention is shown in the novel construction of the gauge, wherebyit can be used with the individual blade holders in arranging the blades in proper position relative to the sharpening rolls;y land by means of which the work of gauging the blade is accomplished expeditiously, thereby saving considerabletime and labor. y

@ther objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the aceompanyn ing drawings, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims. Y l v The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention: Y p f Fig. l is a broken plan view of a razor blade sharpening machine constructed in accordance with this invention showing two pairs of sharpening rolls with meshing helices. Fig. 2 is a semidiagrammatic side View of the machine showing a number of individual `blade holders arranged on the stropping rolls and indicating by arrows that the holders are manually' moved from the end c to cl with the edges of the razor blades is a side view of a stabilizer for holding the lower .end offrire oentering bnrS in e relatively fired position.` Fig. 8 is a cross-section on line 8 8 Fig. yFig. 9 is a plan view of of the collars used in the blade holder supports. Fig. 10 is asection'on the line 10^1O of Figi). Fig. 11 is a side view of a pair of .tivi-n -PoStS ernnioyed in Snpnorting the sharpening rolle and 'blade Snpporte Fig 12 'iSA .o fregnientnl Section on line 12#12 of 11A. Fig. 13 is a fragmentalendview .of the innoirine drnwnto the Sinney seele nS Fig. l, showingbl'ade holders mounted on the'bla'de supports, and also diagrammatical- 1y iiiiiiontiiig the ineinS. for driving the pnirS anni: e c e Fig. '1.4 an enlarged frogniental vertical Seotion .on iine lit-1i oi Figi Showing the ingang for securing the, vehicle oentering' barS in relatively fiigedpositions,there being two for each pair Of rolls',

Figl '1.5' iS' o' Sirio View" of. o songe with a blade holder arranged thereon anddiagram.- niationiiy illustrating br line fr-fi the diS- innloe'iroiii the edgefof. n.- iilniie to the Sironi- .rloi off e. binde 'holden whiob. dietnnoe iS slightly greater than the distance in Fig. 16. Fig. 1G isadiagrammatic viewof j pair of rolls ahd, theblde holder ysinzport Sioiringtinit the iiiStnnoe from. the open of.

the upper tangential angle between the rolls to tletop of the vblade holder snpport is slightly legs' than tlieflstanc'e a-a in Fig. l5.. Fig- '17 iS o iriigrneniiil. Seotion on'iline ifl? of. Fig: li'SiioWing e detail'of the means for mounting and adjusting the bear.-

iiig blocks and su porting the rolls, and binde holdersupport. "i ig. 18 is a side view of one of the. bladelilders. Fig. 19/ is a section on the line, 19.'.-19 oi Fig- 18., Showing the hinged oonneotion of the .nivel and nlSo Showing onpositely arranged recesses adjacent the'hinge j j p Fig. 20 is an end view'of the blade holder showing how it is handled after it hasbeen lifted olf the gauge with a razor blade arranged in place.

Fig. 21 is a vertical section on line 21-21 of Fig. 18 diagrammatically showing a )air of rolls engaging the edge of the razor b ade in the blade holder loosely mounted on the blade holder support.

Fig. 2Q is a view Y analogous to Fig. 2'1, showing the shoulders of the blade holder rounded and arranged in a rounded seat on the bed plates so that the blade holder can roel; to automaticaliy'arrange the edge of the razor blade in proper position relative to a pair of rolls, and also diagrammatically showing the edge of the razor blade engaging a pair of rolls. Fig. 23 is a greatly enlarged frgigmental view of a portion of a razor blade showing an exaggerated feathered edge with grinding wheei` 'works extending baelr to the line to which the edge is bnffed off before the blade is placed on thestropping rolls for alinal sharpening. Fig. 24`i`s a'semi-diagrammatic view of one of the buffer rolls engaging razor blade to buff off the feathered edge before it is placed on the stropping rolls. l The machine includes a base 25 having upi rights 26 that support a platform Q7 on which a vmajor portion of the machine is mounted.

The platform 27 can be large enough to support asmany pairs of sharpening Arolls as may be desired. For the purpose of illustration I show a machine with two pairs of sharpening rolls, indicated as grinding rolls 287-128Y and honing or stropping rolls 252-129. These pairsV of rolls are supported by pairs of twin posts 30 that are secured to the platform 27 by bolts 31, as best indicated in Fig. 13,.

`Rotatably mounted inthe upperends of the posts 30 are bearing supporting rods 32 that extend through vertical centering bars 33 that are arranged at opposite ends of the machine and centrally between their respective pairs of posts. e

` Loosely mounted on the rods 32 are right and left hand threaded sleeves 34-35 on which are adjustably mounted pairs of bearing blocks 361-37 that are stabilized at their upper ends by rods 38 that also extend through the centering bars 33 adjacent their upper ends. In other words the bearings are adjustabley on the sleeves 311-35 and vslide on the'rods 3,8.

The pairs of rolls 281-128 and 29-129 are mounted on the respective shafts 7 6, 77, 78 and 79'that have their ends journaled into the bearing blocks 3,6-37 between the sleeves 349-35. andthe rods 38v so that they are substantially supported and prevented from eX- cessive Vibration when in use.

, After the roll shafts, are jonrnaled into` the bearing'bloclis 3637 the sleeves 34, 35 can be manually rotated on the adjusting shafts -to move the roll shafts and their respective pairsfof rolls into parallel alignment so that their peripheral surfaces are substantially parallel, after which the sleeves are secured to the rod 32 by pins 39, so that when the rods 32 are turned either by the nuts 40 or the worm gear 41 the bearing blocks will all be automatically adjusted toward or from the centering bars 33 ortoward or from a fixed vertical plane between the respective rolls.

The adjustment of, each pair of rolls, after f they are properly aligned, is preferably accomplished by means of a lrnurled nut 42 that is secured to the outer end of a worm shaft 43 mounted in brackets 44'that are secured to the posts 30 by screws 45, and in the brackets are mounted worms 46 that engage the gears 41 so that when the nuts 42 are turned one way or the other they will automatically move all of the bearing blocks of their respective pairs of. rolls toward or from one another and at substantially the same time and distance.

The centering bars 33 are extended upward through the collars 47 that are slidably mounted on the upper surfaces of the bearing blocls 36-37, and mounted on these collars and arranged on opposite sides of the upper ends of the centering bars 33 are spaced blade holder carrier bars 48-49 that are securely held in place by cleats 50 that are attached to the centering bars and also to the guide rods 38 by screws 5l, as best shown in Fig. 17.

The carrier bars 48 and 49 are arranged a predetermined distance apart and above the apex ofthe upper tangential angle between each pair of rolls, which distance is indicated by the line b-b in Fig. 16, it being understood that this distance can be increased or decreased as may be desired. That is, by moving the rolls of each pair closer together by means of the worm drive the distance will be decreased and vice versa. 1

The distance bin Fig. 16 is preferably a little less than the distance a- -a shown in Fig. 15 so that the edges of the razor blades will fully engage the rolls when first Vplaced on the machine and permit the shoulders of their respective holders to lightly engage or rest on the upper surface of the carrier bars. In other words, the edges of the razor blades hold the holders very lightly engaged with the carrier bars until the blades are ground or honed to a predetermined sharpness. Then when stropped the shoulders ofthe holder engage the support and prevent further downward movement of the blades.

The individual razor blade holders 52 are constructed as best shown in Figs. l5 and 18 to 22, inclusive. These holders are in the 1u form of a. pair of tongs having oppositely arranged jaws 53 and `54 that are adapted to engage and detachably hold a razor blade 55.

These jaws are arranged below the shoulders 56, and are connected by the pivot pin 57. The aws are held engaged with one another by means of a leaf spring 58 arranged between the arms 59 and 60.

the upright having a curved upper end 66 that forms a rest for one of the arms of the l'blade holders when they are placed on the gauge. The gauge also is provided with a shoulder 67 that is adapted to engage the shoulders 56 of the blade holders when they are placed on the gaugeand the aws of the holders are recessed at 68 to form a clearance for the blades so that they can move up or down between the aws to engage their lower ledges with the shoulder 69 of the gauge.

The gauge block 62 is secured to the support 64 by a bolt 70.

If desired the shoulder 56 of the blade holder can be rounded as shown in Fig.`22, Vand the adjacent upper edges of the bed plates 48 and 49 can also be rounded as shown, so that the blade holders can have a slight sidewise self centering movement to' automatically engage their respective blades in a proper position on the rolls.

The carrier bars are centralized between and above the ro-lls by the centering bars 33 which are supported on the rod 32 andwhich have their lower ends stabilized bythe stabilizers 71 that are arranged to enga-ge the lower ends of the bars. VThe stabilizers are secured to the base 72, that is integral with the twin post 30, by means of screws 73 that are extended upward through slots 74, 7 5l in the platform into the stabilizers, the slots being provided to afford slight side adjustment of the rods 32 when they are being centralized.

The pairs of fons ee-iae and 29u29 are,

mounted on the respective shafts 76, 77, 78 and 79 that, as previously stated, have their *ends journa-led into the bearing blocks 36-37, yand these pairs of rolls are driven in timed relationship with one another by means of gears 80, 81 on the shafts 76, 77 and gears 82, 83 on the shafts 78 and 79.

The adjacent shafts 77, 78 carry pulleys V84, 85 that are driven through belts 86, 87

by a pulley 88 on a shaft 89 that is in turn driven by a motor, not shown, but well understood in the art. In other words, when the shaft 89 is driven each of the pairs'of Also mounted on the shaft 7G are two buffer rolls S30-91 that are utilized tor wiping off the edges of the razor blades after they have been groundby the rolls 28-128 and before they are placed in' the honing or stropping rolls 29-129. Y i I As is well known in the art, razor blades after they are ground have an exceedingly line raveled edge, which is greatly exaggerated as indicated in Fig. 23. Y

The buffer 90, which is preferably formed of ibrous material, is rused towipe off vthe feathery edge of the ground blades, after which their edges are brought into engagement. with the'periphery of another buffer 9i and preferably tangentially thereto, as indicated in Fig. 2l, so that all ot the `feathery edge of each blade is broken ofi to a straight edge indicated by the line fU-K in Fig. 23. f Y

ln other words I buit oil the edges of the ground blades that are too thin and eathery, as indicated by the nicks or oracks 92 in Fig.l 23. Then with the blades still Aheld in their individual holders I place them on the rolls 294129 for a final .sharpening or Lstropping and preferably the blades are then manually slid from end to end of the rolls so that each individual blade will contact with the entire peripheral surface of the stropping rolls. i`hat is, the blade holders, after their blades have been ground and their raveled edges buti'ed oil), can be placed on the support ad] acent one end ofthe stropping rolls, as at the end c in Fig. 2, and then `manually moved in gradual steps the width of' the blades on toward the end (Z, which gradual stepped movement will make room on the stropping rolls for succeeding holders.k It desired stops 93, 94 can be arranged onthe bed plates -il-S, 4 9 to limit the movement of the blade holder.

V.ln operation the machine is driven as described and razor blades to besharpened arranged between the jaws of indivldual holders and then placed on, the gauge (S2 to properly arrange the blades relatively to the grinning rolls; and when so gauged the blades are arranged so that the distance a--a trom their edges to the shoulders 'of theV holders, as indicated in Fig. l5, is.` slightly greater than the distance b-Z, Fig. 16, which corresponds to the distance from the apex of the upper tangential angle kbetween the rolls to the top ot the bed plate.

' After the blades are` gang-ed they are lirst placed in the grinding rolls 28428 to grind them to a raveled edge, which is then brolen away by the buffer rolls 901-91.

Then the blades are placed on the honing or stropping rolls 29-129 for a final sharpening.

is previously stated the blade holders can be manually reciprocated endwise of the sharpening rolls'to whet the blades. Also,

as previously stated, the rolls of cach pair can be moved toward orfrom one another while being driven to properly engage them with the razor blades.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a machine' `:tor sharpening razor blades the combination with a pair'ot'` meshing sharpening rolls,` bearing blocks in which the ends of said rolls are journaled, threaded sleeves extending through said blocks for adjusting them independently of one another Y to move said rolls into parallel alignment, supporting rods extending through said sleeves, pairs` of .twmposts for supporting said rods, of a support including a pair of spaced carrier bars arranged above said rolls, individual blade holders adapted to be loosely mounted on said bars so that the edges of their razor blades will properly engage the rolls by gravity, means for driving said rolls 3. A lmachine for sharpening razor blades including afplatform, twin posts secured thereon, bearing supporting rods mounted yin the upper ends of said posts, lcentering bars loosely mounted on said rods, right'and left hand threaded sleeves secured to rsaid rods and arranged on opposite sides of'said bars, bearing blocks mounted on said sleeves, guide rods extending through theupper ends of said bars and blocks, pairs of rolls having their ends journaled into said blocks between said sleeves vand guide rods, and means for securing the lower ends of said'centering bars to said `plat-form.

' `LA machine for sharpennig'razor blades including a platform, twin .posts secured thereon, bearing supporting rods mounted in the upper end of said posts, vertical centering bars loosely mounted onv said rods, right and left hand threaded sleeves secured to said supportingl rods and'arranged on opposite sides of said bars, bearing blocks arranged in pairs at opposite ends of said platform and mounted on said sleeves, guide rods extending through the upper ends of said bars and blocks, pairs of rolls' having their ends journaled into said blocks between said sleeves and guide rods, meansr for rotating said rolls,

said rolls a proper distance apart to engage the edges of the razor blades longitudinally.

5. A machine for sharpening razor blades including a platform, twin posts secured thereon, bearing supporting rods mounted in the upper ends of said posts, vertical centering bars loosely mounted on said rods, stabiliZers engaging the lower ends of said bars, right and left hand threaded sleeves secured to said rods and arranged on opposite sides of said bars, bearing blocks mounted on said sleeves, guide rods extending through the upper ends of said bars and blocks, pairs of rolls having their ends liournaled Yinto said blocks between said sleeves and rods,fmeans for rotating said rolls, and means for rotating said rods to adjust said rolls toward or from one another.

6. rlhe combination set forth in claim and a razor blade support connected to said centering bars for the purpose specified.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5 and, collars loosely mounted on said blocks and extended over the upper ends of said bars, bed plates supported on said collars that arearranged on opposite sides of said bars, cleats extended over said bars and plates, and screws for securing said cleats in place,

said screws extending downward through said'bars into said guide rods.

8. The combination setl forth in claim 5, and a blade support including parallel carrier bars secured to said centering bars, and individual blade holders adapted to be loosely mounted on said support so that theirV razor blades will engage said rolls.

9. A machine for sharpening razor blades including a pair of sharpening rolls parallel with each other, a similar bearing block supporting each end of each roll and a pair of bearing blocks at each end of the rolls having internally and reversely threaded Y holes through them in alinement with each other, an externally threaded sleeve extending through the holes in each pair of bearing blocks, a rotary shaft extending through and secured to the pairrof sleeves at each end of said rolls, the sleeves on each shaft being reversely threaded, and means for simultaneously and similarly turning the shafts at both ends of said pair of rolls, whereby the rolls will be uniformly adjusted throughout their length in one operation.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

ALFRED A. KOHLMILLER. 

